The court heard that Chamberlain is accused of taking £10,000 from her uncle John Marchant, who needed round-the-clock medical care, in January 2015.

She had been granted power of attorney for Mr Marchant in 2014. The court heard Mr Marchant suffers a dementia-like illness called Korsakoff Syndrome commonly associated with alcoholism and that he was “not in his right mind” to make decisions about his own finances.

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Chamberlain withdrew £10,000 from Mr Marchant's account in January 2015. She says her uncle agreed to gift her the money as a thank you for all the hard work she had put in looking after him.

Chamberlain’s mother (who also has power of attorney over Mr Marchant and is his sister), however, raised concerns the money was fraudulently withdrawn, and that Mr Marchant was in no fit state to allow such a large sum of his money to be given away like this.

Prosecuting, Caroline Allison said: “The important thing is dishonesty. This case relates to some financial abuse of a vulnerable adult.

'He wasn't in his right mind'

“He is her uncle. Mr Marchant suffers difficulties with his memory related to alcohol abuse. He has required full-time care and has lived in a neurological centre in Peterborough. Before he went there, he had exhibited behaviour that had caused concern to his family.

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“As a result of those concerns, a power of attorney was put in place in February 2014. At that time, Mr Marchant was able to make decisions. The two people he named were his sister Celine Ellis, and Celine’s daughter, his niece, Paula Chamberlain.”

Giving evidence, Chamberlain’s mother Celine Ellis said: “[Mr Marchant] wasn’t in his right mind and she shouldn’t have taken it. You can’t take it. He was in a secure unit and wasn’t allowed out. We had carers for him and he didn’t really know one day from the next.”

'It's a vendetta'

Cross examining Mrs Ellis’ evidence, defence barrister Emma Rance told the court there had been a phone call from Mr Marchant to Chamberlain where he explicitly gifted her the money.

She said the call had been heard, via speakerphone, by Mrs Ellis and her friend Phyllis Reynolds. She suggested Mrs Ellis’ two other daughters were waging a “vendetta” against Chamberlain after they found out they had been taken out of Mr Marchant’s will.

Mrs Ellis and Mrs Reynolds both say they recall no such phone conversation, and Mrs Ellis denied any vendetta over the will, saying that, once Mr Marchant’s care bills were taken care of, there was not much he could expect to leave anyone.

Mrs Ellis said: “At the end of the day, with all the money spending on his care, there wouldn’t be much left. It was supposed to last the rest of his life. He’ll never work again.”

The trial continues.

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